Web and mobile application users are subjected to ubiquitous tracking and personalization.
There are a number of different techniques utilized by trackers (referred to herein as “tracking implementers”) who attempt to track user behavior as the user accesses various websites. One such technique is via the use of a “tracking cookie.”
Tracking cookies are specialized versions of cookies that tracking implementers use to monitor user entries and online habits. For example, the tracking cookie may be used to send a list of the user's online activities, usually tied to the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address, to the tracking implementer's remote database for analysis.
Another technique used by tracking implementers to monitor user behavior is to store user behavior data in the user's local browser storage. Data placed in the local browser storage is per origin, where the data is available to all scripts loaded from pages from the same origin, and persists after the browser is closed.
Such tracked user behavior data may be utilized by the tracking implementers or third-parties to help businesses make effective decisions about advertising and outreach to the user, such as presenting targeted advertisements to the user.